From Dinks to Dugouts: Betts is a 2024 World Series Champion

by Kelly Campbell

The LA Dodgers became this year’s World Series champions when they knocked out the NY Yankees in game five last week.

If you followed the series closely, you might’ve caught some of the pickleball conversation amidst game two, when announcers highlighted Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts’ love for pickleball. They discussed how his pickleball love off the field could help his skills on the field. Even in a small comment, the marketing potential for pickleball was huge. Nearly 16 million people watched this year’s World Series.

We know that pickleball is a shared love between many professional athletes––particularly football and basketball. Now we can add baseball to the mix. And, like we’ve said before, the more celebrity influence and financial investment for pickleball, the better.

While we can’t definitively conclude that pickleball influenced the outcome of this series, we’d like to think that Betts’ off-the-field pickleball passion impacted the Dodger’s performance, leading to victory. Either way, we’re thrilled to see pickleball popularity continue to soar in a new area, and that our favorite paddle sport infiltrated World Series coverage.

Keep reading for more on Betts’ pickleball passion, more baseball players who are known to swap bats for paddles, and why pickleball could be beneficial for professional athletes.

Mookie Betts: Dinking off the Diamond

One thing’s for sure: Mookie Betts dominates on the baseball field. This year is his third time winning the World Series. He won his first title in 2018 with the Boston Red Sox and his second with the Dodgers in 2020. He has won an MVP and multiple Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards and is a fan-favorite.

In addition to baseball, Betts is a professional bowler. The 32-year-old Nashville Native competed in the 2023 PBA U.S. Open championship against the best bowlers in the world. Now, we know he’s a pickleballer, too.

Betts spread some pickleball love back in September, in an interview with SportsNet during a Dodgers-Braves game.

“Pickleball, that’s my jam,” he said. “I love playing pickleball. I love the hang. You get to talk to people and get to meet people. A lot of people have fire in them, especially in pickleball. They get really mad, which I love.”

If Betts loves pickleball as much as he’s said, we’ll definitely see more of him in our territory. We know that other professional athletes like LeBron James and Patrick Mahomes have invested in pickleball teams, and other celebrities such as Jamie Foxx and Stephen Colbert have influenced pickleball as well, so it seems that’s a likely next step for Betts.

With his major success on the baseball field, we can’t imagine Betts will switch to pickleball full-time soon, but maybe one day he’ll become a pickleball champion in addition to a baseball one.

Pickleball: More than a hobby for professional athletes

As a low-impact, high-energy sport, pickleball is a great way for professional athletes to stay fit in their off-seasons, or to prepare for an upcoming game. Pickleball ensures that athletes maintain their overall fitness and competitive edge.

The Phillies even incorporated pickleball into their spring training regimen this year. They say pickleball is particularly beneficial because it is not very strenuous, and helps them work on their defensive skills.

Betts’ pickleball love came up during the World Series because of the edge it gave him over opponents. In the third inning, Betts survived an attempted pick-off at first base. Announcers discussed how Betts plays pickleball every day, which likely contributes to his agile lateral movements.

Obviously, pickleball is just plain fun and competitive on its own, but with pickleball practice leading to competitive advantages, it makes sense that it’s popular amongst non-pickleball athletes. With pickleball, there’s no shortage of mental and physical health benefits and the risk of injury is low.

More specifically, pickleball is ideal for baseball players and other athletes because pickleball can improve: